|
Abide in Christ
Victoria Boyson
www.boyson.org
True Humility
True humility is not focusing on our weaknesses or how bad we are, but on how all-sufficient and good God is. Without Christ, truly, we can do nothing, BUT with Him we can do all things (see Philippians 4:13). Moreover, true humility is abiding in Christ, because we have come to understand our great need of Him. But mature humility goes beyond that fact and at its highest level will manifest itself as a strong belief that as we abide in Christ we rely on His omnipotence to use us as He wishes.
As we abide in Christ we have access to His divine strength to overcome any obstacle. Of course, the flesh of man is weak and uncontrollable; it is only as we abide in Christ that He imparts His power to us and subdues
our flesh.
It is sin to assume that we can do anything in our own strength, but it is also sin not to trust in Christ's power to work His wonders through us. As we exercise our faith in Christ's power working through us
as we live daily in Him, we will bear much fruit for the glory of God. We would work, not for Him, but in Him, becoming one with Him.
"Then Moses said to the Lord, 'Please, Lord, I have never
been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.'"
Our Excuses are No Excuse
"The Lord said to him, 'Who has
made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say'" (Exodus 4:10-12).
The anger of the
Lord burned against Moses (v 14), because he continued to focus on his weaknesses instead of God's abilities.
True humility is not self-abasement, focusing on our personal inabilities, but is seeing God's ability to
show forth His awesome power through us. Plain and simple: true humility is faith in God!
God + 0 = Victory!
Humility is believing that God is more than enough to make up for our weaknesses. It is not by
anything we do that we succeed, only by our union with Christ. Our strength bears no fruit and is inconsequential in the equation of victory. It is not our strength that matters, but His. And He is all-powerful
and all-sufficient. His power encompasses heaven and earth and us as well.
God chooses to work through us to accomplish His will on this earth, who are we to tell Him He can't use us. Who are we to think there is
anything good or bad in us that would keep Him from accomplishing His will through us. It is not by our might or our power, but by His Spirit that we bear fruit (see Zechariah 4:6).
Abiding in the Vine
As we
abide in the Vine, we do as the Vine wishes, which is to bear fruit for the Vine. The branch is an extension of the Vine and has no purpose apart from fulfilling the wishes of the Vine. Furthermore, as we remain in the Vine we
experience a natural flow of the power of the Vine through the branches, resulting in much fruit.
As Christians, we must understand that we cannot produce quality fruit apart from Christ and that our fruit flows directly
from Him. It is the will of the Vine Dresser that we bear much fruit, which is the evidence of our union with the Vine.
We are suppose to bear fruit!
As we are established in Christ, the fruit of our lives
is a result of our love for Him, and being yielded to Him is evidence of that love. Of course, it is possible to bear fruit outside of Christ, but is it lasting fruit or edible fruit? It is only through our union with Christ
that we produce useful, long-lasting fruit and are made useful to Him.
The more fruit we bear, the greater our love and appreciation for the Vine becomes. Our humility is made manifest through the fruit we bear. The
branches who bear the most fruit bow the lowest, because they know more than anyone that the fruit they bear is only a result of Christ's power working through them.
Friends, when we see what Christ can accomplish
through us, we will never want to leave Him, not even for a minute. Our hunger to abide in Christ daily and do His will as He asks is, indeed, mature humility.
|
|
